As I move through my career and my personal life, I realize more and more how important it is to self-educate. Not necessarily going back to school, but taking the initiative to explore all of the resources out there to learn something new. I find myself challenged by the leaders I support within my training role when it comes to promoting learning and development to enhance their business acumen.
I hear things like, “I just don’t have the time.” So my question is: When is the right time? In my opinion, the time is now. There are books, articles, and studies that state over and over that in order to stay competitive within the marketplace, learning opportunities need to be accessible for the workforce to stay relevant.
My company offers a plethora of these learning opportunities, many specifically for leaders to hone their skills, yet we can’t get our leaders to participate. One of my counterparts even held a study hall and scheduled leaders to come to a learning session. As a company, if we feel it’s important enough to make learning a part of their development plan, what’s stopping these leaders from following through? I can’t imagine the time excuse is all there is. Maybe they don’t find value in the classes. Maybe senior management is not stepping up to their responsibility of ensuring they career path their leaders. The bottom line is that the workforce is a volatile place and if you can’t take the time to glean the knowledge needed to stay relevant, that workforce will find someone else to do it.
Multitask Learning into Your Day
It takes a lot of money, manpower, and planning to make these courses available, and I, for one, don’t want to see them taken away. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and need to bank some time to take care of ourselves by filling our minds with new ideas and possibilities. One of my favorite pastimes for learning was listening to books on CD. What better way to spend a one-hour commute? Unfortunately, I don’t get to do that anymore because my commute is now about 15 minutes (some sacrifices are worth making). So now I have to pick up a book and read it, which is pretty awesome, too. A new thing I started doing to enhance my learning is listening to podcasts or TedTalks while jogging or walking. Multitasking is doable—you just have to want to do it.
Some other ways to multitask learning into your day include:
- Catch up on the latest online business trends during your lunch hour.
- Bring a book to any doctor appointments you have as there is always a wait time.
- Instead of listening to music in the car, listen to news radio.
- Download apps such as Audible to listen to books on your phone or tablet (there is a free 30-day trial).
If there are so many ways to learn then why aren’t more people taking the opportunity to do it? I find myself asking the question: Is it complacency? Do they feel like they have nothing left to learn? According to an article in the Ivey Business Journal, author Gerard Seijts, professor of Organizational Behavior, says, “Good leaders are really the product of a never-ending process of skill and character development, and good leaders develop through constant learning about their personalities, relationships, and careers, not to mention the kind of leader they want to become.”
I don’t know of a company out there that is not driven by numbers. Yet many are able to successfully produce leaders who see the importance in self-education to produce the numbers needed. In fact, in a study conducted by the Pew Research Center (October 13-November 15, 2015):
- 65 percent of Learning professionals said that their extra training helped to expand their professional network
- 47 percent said they were able to advance within their current company or organization
- 29 percent were able to find a new job either within their organization or a different one
- 27 percent were able to consider a different career path.
As far as I can see, there is no downside to learning something new. As author Brian Herbert so eloquently stated, “The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”
I, for one will always choose to learn. Will you?
Alaine Carrello is a senior trainer in Learning and Development at Verizon. She has been with Verizon Wireless for 22 years and has held many positions. Carrello has been in the Learning and Development organization since 2010 and recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bellevue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Adult Education.
